This is accomplished through clearly communicated and practiced classroom expectations in conjunction with highly structured On-Task guidelines and routines.
Mr. F's Classroom Expectations are:
Communication: Following pro-social rules for speaking, listening and independently resolving conflict, students are responsible for sharing their feelings, concerns and ideas in an age appropriate manner.
Respect: Demonstrating a Caring and Supportive attitude towards self and others is not only recognized as an achievement, but it is also correlated with students finding value in their education and the education of others.
Do Work: Following the On-Task Guidelines, students will demonstrate effective academic engagement in a wide range of academic contexts.
What about the classroom rules?
Traditional classroom management models focus on what a student Should Not do, and what punishment will occur if they choose to violate the rules.Mr. F's classroom management strategies are modeled from Safe and Civil School's approach, which implements a Positive Behavior Support Strategy to reinforce student engagement, compliance with expectations and pro-social behavior when interacting with peers and adults.
Does it work?
A review of research on PBS effectiveness showed that there was over a 90% reduction in problem behavior in over half of the studies; the problem behavior stopped completely in over 26% of the studies.Schools that employ system-wide interventions for problem behavior prevention indicate reductions in office discipline referrals of 20-60%.
Schools that implement system-wide interventions also report increased time engaged in academic activities and improved academic performance.
What Happens if my Child gets in trouble?
"Trouble" means different things to different people. As a former classroom clown and reluctant learner, "Trouble" meant standing in the hallway, sitting in the principal's office and in some cases being suspended from school."Trouble" also meant a loss of classroom time, instructional minutes and fewer opportunities to learn. For this reason, my philosophy on teaching views "Trouble" as a "Learning Opportunity."
Following the Safe and Civil School approach to managing behavior, I rely on an extensive menu of behavior intervention strategies to support your child. These include planned discussions, goal setting, data recording, behavior contracts, contingency contracts, Positive Behavior Support Strategies and community agency referrals. When paired with collaborative parent communication, these options prove very effective in managing every "Learning Opportunity."
Sources
U.S. Department of Education. (2000). Applying positive behavioral support in schools: Twenty-second Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disability Act. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Sprick, R., & Garrison, M. (2008). Interventions: Evidence-based behavioral strategies for individual students (Revised/Expanded ed.). Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest Publishing.
Sprick, R., & Garrison, M. (2008). Interventions: Evidence-based behavioral strategies for individual students (Revised/Expanded ed.). Eugene, OR: Pacific Northwest Publishing.
